In his daily press conference and address to Canadians Friday, April 3, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government will be providing $100 million to help Canadians with “urgent food needs” and that the Canadian military has been asked to be deployed in the province of Quebec.
The newly announced $100 million funding will aim to help support food banks and local food organizations deliver food to vulnerable populations across Canada.
In his address, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the work done by food banks and its volunteers are “essential” and that there is no question that they need more support during this time.
He also asked and encouraged Canadians to consider helping out if they have the means to do so.
The breakdown of the $100 million funding is as follows:
- $50 million will be going to Food Banks Canada
- $20 million will be shared among the Salvation Army, Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada and Breakfast Club of Canada
- $30 million will go to local-level organizations that are focusing on food insecurity
Also, in his announcements for today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that the government will be accelerating the timeline of the GST credit for low-income individuals. The new timeline would allow for qualifying individuals to receive the credit in April instead of later in May.
Related Article: Ontario projects 3,000 to 15,000 COVID-19 deaths with health measures in place
With Ontario’s Premier Dough Ford announcing yesterday that the province’s top health officials will be releasing its COVID-19 outcome projections, the Prime Minister was asked to present a clearer picture of the federal government’s projections for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reassuring Canadians, Prime Minister Trudeau said that he had reviewed the numbers that Ontario will be announcing later this afternoon and that the federal government will be sharing their outlook in the coming days.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of following the advice and recommendations of top medical health officers and continued physical distancing saying that the behaviours and actions of Canadians will determine whether the pandemic related measures will be lifted in weeks or, alternatively if not listened to, in months.
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